Israel's Supreme Court rules ultra-Orthodox men must serve in military in unanimous decision

Israel's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in a unanimous decision that ultra-Orthodox men must be drafted for military service.

The court said without a law that distinguishes between Jewish seminary students and other draftees, Israel's compulsory military service system applies to the ultra-Orthodox, as it does with other citizens, according to The Associated Press.

Ultra-Orthodox men have long been exempt from the draft, which is compulsory for most Jewish men and women.

The exemptions have sparked anger among the secular public and led to more division amid Israel's ongoing war against Hamas terrorists, as the military has called up tens of thousands of soldiers for its conflict in Gaza. More than 600 soldiers have been killed in the eight-month-long war.

NETANYAHU READY TO MAKE PARTIAL CEASE-FIRE DEAL, VOWS WAR WILL CONTINUE UNTIL HAMAS IS ELIMINATED

Politically powerful ultra-Orthodox parties, which are key partners in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition, do not support any change to the current system. If the exemptions end, the governing coalition could collapse and prompt new elections.

Government lawyers told the court that forcing ultra-Orthodox men to enlist in the military would "tear Israeli society apart."

The court said the state was carrying out "invalid selective enforcement, which represents a serious violation of the rule of law, and the principle according to which all individuals are equal before the law."

Ultra-Orthodox men attend special seminaries that center on religious studies, while they largely refrain from secular topics like math, English or science. Critics have said these men are not prepared to serve in the military or enter the secular work force.

Cabinet minister Yitzhak